Hal Leonard The Reggae Songbook

This wonderful book, along with Ultimate Reggae (from the same publisher: Hal Leonard) are indeed a reggae lovers dream. 40 songs purchased individually from sheet music websites such as MusicNotes are a fiver each. That means the total cost of this book, if the songs are sold individually, would be £200. Even getting them at almost half-price from Sheet Music Direct (powered by Hal Leonard) would cost you £120 (without a PASS subscription) or £60 to download if you’re paying the £10 per month for sheet music streaming.Even with all that being said, there are still tunes in Hal Leonard’s reggae songbooks that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. For example, one of my favourite reggae tunes is Althea & Donna’s “Uptown Top Ranking”. This popular song was a smash it across the Caribbean as well as the UK. It’s based on a tune sung by Alton Ellis called “I’m Still in Love with You (Girl)” which was also made popular by the female version… Marcia Aitken’s “I’m Still in Love with You Boy”.By having “Uptown Top Ranking” in this book, you’re also getting access to the original riddim which it samples. Not only that, but the riddim is also sampled by Sean Paul, Rihanna, Diana King, Jackie Mittoo (just to name a few). For many, without knowing it, playing this tune, is to honour the genius of Joe Gibbs, the producer at Studio One (who produced and engineered tunes for almost everyone in old school roots rock reggae, including Bob Marley).In this review, I’ve highlighted only one song, Uptown Top Ranking (from the Ultimate Reggae Book). There are over 40 more in that book and a few dozen more in this Reggae Songbook (if you exclude and ignore the duplicates, which still makes it great value for money, compared to purchasing the songs individually or even streaming).This Reggae Songbook contains exclusives not found in any other book or sheet music online. Even the hymn Satta Massagana (Satta Amasas Gana) cannot be purchased or streamed from the Hal Leonard website nor Sheet Music Direct. This therefore makes the book a must, even for this song alone. The tune is easy enough to transcribe without sheet music. However, why re-invent the wheel? The funny thing is, many of these tunes, including Satta, I have already transcribed and played (without any sheet music). However, when the melody lines, rhythm and harmony have all be documented already, why do it all over again from scratch? It’s far more efficienct to use the sheet music as a skeleton in fleshing out unique arrangements.One the whole, I’m incredibly happy with these Hal Leonard publications. It’s an advantage to have all the songs printed and professionally bound, instead of the usual loose sheet music lying around everywhere waiting to be organised.The music transcriptions are spot on (over 95% accurate, with a few minor tweaks necessary here and there). I cannot complain, as transcribing these songs from scratch would be far more time consuming. Having the sheet music is a short-cut. But do not rely on the sheet music alone. Still listen to the original songs. Compare and transcribe using your own ear. For example, there are several recordings of Uptown Top Ranking. The version I listen to, and love the most, has in my opinion a better introduction, cleaner vocals and instrumental bridge, than the recording that the sheet music is based on. The sheet music is a cheat sheet but not a crutch.The quality of the lyrics vary widely. Some are 100% accurate and give further insight to the song. For example, Satta contains the foreign language of Amharic from Ethiopia. It’s insightful to see how the Jamaican artists interpreted and used this language in this, hymnful and churchical yet, hit song. Other lyrics are a complete joke, literally hilarious, and are clearly transcribed by non-Jamaicans, non-Caribbean/West Indians. Uptown Top Ranking is a most laughable example. I’m not even going to duplicate the misquotes in this review. You have to see it for yourself it to believe it. However, where it lacks in lyrical accuracy, it more than makes up for in musical authenticity. The melody, rhythm and harmony are on point.The Ultimate Reggae Songbook had a printing error and the retailer/seller quickly despatched a replacement within 24 hours, which I couldn’t be happier with.Overall, I’m well chuffed. These tunes were hits in their day and will continue to be sampled, generating hits well into the future.

Such wonderful songs in the book, what a treasure trove

easy to read and accurate

41 Klassiker des Genres. Sauber notiert und fehlerfrei. Schwierigkeit würde ich als "Mittel" einschätzen. Anfänger mit geringen Kenntnissen müssen sicherlich viel üben. Aber es ist möglich. Geschulte Pianisten und Gitarristen haben ohne Ende Spaß.Definitiv eine Kaufempfehlung.

Beaucoup de chansons de références. J'ai une affection particulière pour 1865 (96 Degres In The Shade). Il y a la partition des mélodies (clé de Sol), partition d'accompagnement (clé de Fa), ainsi que les paroles ! Que demander de plus ? Si on aime le reggae, musiciens, chanteurs, vous vous devez de l'avoir dans votre bibliothèque !